Elon Musk promised he would eliminate the nearly $2 trillion budget deficit in year one. But DOGE won’t just fall short of Musk’s deficit-reduction goals, Jonathan Chait writes. It will, in all probability, increase the deficit—by a lot. theatln.tc/HHz6dJrj - ThreadSky

theatlantic.com • 1 day ago

Elon Musk promised he would eliminate the nearly $2 trillion budget deficit in year one. But DOGE won’t just fall short of Musk’s deficit-reduction goals, Jonathan Chait writes. It will, in all probability, increase the deficit—by a lot. https://theatln.tc/HHz6dJrj

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Comments

pcsherry.bsky.social•1 day ago

Department Of Government EXCESS

jjmcnamara.bsky.social•1 day ago

It was all BS from the beginning and the Republicans knew it all along. Trump voters who have buyers remorse should have red project 2025, it was all spelled out in black and white. Can’t claim one didn’t know this would happen either.

gooddogrex.bsky.social•1 day ago

If that happens, I assume no one will be held accountable, right? Same as with Signalgate

globug48.bsky.social•1 day ago

If he had been "efficient" in this exercise & handled it methodically & planned, instead of slap dap, perhaps, it could have been culled properly. This should have taken months to do; not in short time. How much is this costing us plus what is end cost to us? How did he get so rich?

dinainmaine.bsky.social•1 day ago

If Musk had a clue what he was doing we’d be on Mars now and every Tesla would’ve been self-driving for 6 years now.

tringdriventhing.bsky.social•1 day ago

What's the point of eradicating a budget deficit if you totally hamstring your country by destroying its potential to innovate, do research, educate, attract tourists etc etc etc?

anthonyaaron.bsky.social•1 day ago

💡 People’s tax dollars are paying ALL government action and in-action!

anthonyaaron.bsky.social•1 day ago

The creepy as F* so-called human made its choices & associations —
now he’ll live w/ them.

crybkablue.bsky.social•1 day ago

Why Does Trump & Elon Musk want to bankrupt America?
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-musk-intentionally-crashing-economy

i-am-las-vegas.bsky.social•1 day ago

Elon Musk seems more like a moron than a genius.

kandrews4.bsky.social•1 day ago

@theatlantic.com Doge is not an actual government agency - where is that anywhere in your posts?

bobbifl.bsky.social•1 day ago

We know Elon lies.

opus17.bsky.social•1 day ago

the deficit will go down once all his kids start paying taxes #ImpregnateMeElmo

vadaga.bsky.social•1 day ago

Are they still updating the website...

nancynina.bsky.social•1 day ago

Why is there no official report or scheduled hearings on the “waste and fraud” this mope was supposed to uncover? Where are the numbers? Where are the savings? Will there be any official numbers released?

poohbearcorner.bsky.social•23 hours ago

Musk will make America inefficient.
Musk will kill expertise.
Musk will disrupt effective government processes & science.
Musk is mistake driven.
Musk is not competent in government.
Musk will amplify Trump madness.
Must, added to Hegseth & Vance, is an omnishambles.
Musk will fail.

mgg517.bsky.social•1 day ago

Unemployment will increase, there will be less money being spent from people not working. Tariffs will increase prices, so less money being spent. Consumer sentiment is down. People will only buy necessities. Less money coming in, means increasing deficit. Basic economics 101!

crosis101.bsky.social•1 day ago

He’s a liar and a failure…how os that not apparent to anyone watching?

ponyaddict.bsky.social•1 day ago

It’s never been about waste, fraud and abuse.
That’s just a cover for something far more nefarious.

ebbisowell.bsky.social•1 day ago

Why hasn’t he been brought before Congress?

lecohonah1.bsky.social•1 day ago

https://bsky.app/profile/lecohonah1.bsky.social/post/3llsmix2u222c

dentonrg.bsky.social•1 day ago

More false promises from Elon Musk. Thank you Wisconsin!

vl2024.bsky.social•1 day ago

It’s not going to end well for the Swasticar salesman and Felon47 and all their henchmen. It’s not going to be pretty.

axlrows.bsky.social•1 day ago

Hmmm. I’m starting to think maybe Curtis Yarvin is not a genius…

rst-one.bsky.social•1 day ago

But that’s not the point, is it, so stop playing to this bullshit and writing stories about it. This is a coup by racist, white, christian, nationalist’s and a giveaway to billionaires. Everything else is a smoke screen.

piebrain.bsky.social•1 day ago

gas went up today twenty five cents a gallon and the deficit is caused by not taxing the rich the last fifty years TAX ELON MUSK

bklynnative.bsky.social•1 day ago

Can you please put graphics on highway billboards in red districts?

denlapp.bsky.social•1 day ago

Imagine that…

icu-b4-uc-me.bsky.social•1 day ago

The fascist clown is not as bright as many think he is.

jessicajones2024.bsky.social•1 day ago

Any economics 101 student could have figured that out

pampalmeresq.bsky.social•1 day ago

I have been saying the same thing. So much of what they have done is either Unconstitutional, or Illegal. We Taxpayers will pay all the attorneys fees, damages, reinstatement of employment with back pay plus interest, missed retirement contributions, etc. Programs and Funding cuts will more…

pampalmeresq.bsky.social•1 day ago

more than likely be reinstated. We Taxpayers will have to pay for perished goods sitting in storage. Funds gutted to myriad Research Programs, especially in Health, will cost us all dearly, if not reinstated.

thefool37.bsky.social•1 day ago

Just the $500 billion lost to the tax cheaters due to IRS cuts will cause a massive increase in the deficit all on its own. Musk hasn't cut shit in reality. Every time he puts up some numbers they get debunked the same day. And even the fake numbers don't add up to much at all.

youngpilots.bsky.social•1 day ago

The extraordinary hubris of Musk will end badly. The guy has no idea what he's doing.
Nazis have a bad history of running governments.

invisiblebetty.bsky.social•1 day ago

Gee -- it's almost like it was never about reducing the deficit but all about destroying democracy. Weird.

jamrobcar.com•1 day ago

It's almost as if low-level government workers' salaries weren't the major cost. But perhaps, instead, it's a few overpaid government contractors (like Starlink) who are the real drain. Crazy.

gooddogrex.bsky.social•1 day ago

Who would have thought, right? 😱

dfass.bsky.social•11 hours ago

He always was bad at math.

fortpointchannel.bsky.social•1 day ago

Weird. He’s 1) always been accurate with his claims, predictions and promises before and 2) been an expert in all things government/economics for YEARS, right?

paws101.bsky.social•1 day ago

It's pretty obvious this coup is not about saving the american public money, its about reducing impediments to their take over of government & increase the size of the pool of money for them to grab it!

demur.bsky.social•1 day ago

Is this fake genius done yet? Can we just give him a shitty ribbon to fuck off?

mutable.bsky.social•1 day ago

This won't matter one little bit until some democrats get any kind of agency at all, in the legislature or the executive. Then it will be All Hands On Deck to prevent any countercyclical relief form our economic catastrophe.

hollygolightly14.bsky.social•1 day ago

Anyone with a brain that has worked for the government could tell you that what Musk is doing is counter-productive. Personally, I think he's trying to take out agencies who were investigating his companies.

bjarneb.bsky.social•24 minutes ago

Which probably was the plan all along.

princesslbi.bsky.social•1 day ago

Call me not surprised

bodgieau.bsky.social•1 day ago

But surely a genius could see the error of his ways. Perhaps his narcissism is getting in the way.

crybkablue.bsky.social•1 day ago

Is Musk really a genius or just an idiot-savant?
His intelligence seens to end at the boundaries of technology. As for an economic strategist, he hasn't a clue.

prairiestories.bsky.social•1 day ago

Cutting National Parks and IRS funding alone will add to the deficit yah? Anyone keeping a tally of revenue generating programs that have been severely cut by Department of Inefficiency? https://www.frommers.com/trip-ideas/national-park/national-parks-make-more-money-than-they-take-in-taxes/

arcatamarcia.bsky.social•1 day ago

Never in his life has he been responsible for the welfare of a lot of people while operating on a shoe string. He had no idea that was even a thing. Oops. Then he takes his billions and goes home with our marbles while we try to clean up the aftermath. Sounds exactly like what I would expect.

stomachtax.bsky.social•1 day ago

Jon Chait is a TERF and wrong about 90% of everything else, don’t read this even if you agree w it

lisamikolajczyk.bsky.social•1 day ago

Of course he would believe this because the only reason Elon Musk used to vote for Democratic candidates is because they would vote to give subsidies to his companies so he thinks everyone is transactional like he is for their vote.

lisamikolajczyk.bsky.social•1 day ago

I’m seriously wondering how Musk became so successful as he really doesn’t seem to be a very good businessman nor especially intelligent.

hard2bgreene.bsky.social•1 day ago

Not to worry!!

Musk's companies will get cushy new contracts to handle the services.

Sure, it'll cost more in the long run and allow him to personally decide which services he thinks Americans deserve and which people get them but he's given us no reason not to trust his judgement, right?

😒

cabaratom.bsky.social•1 day ago

They want to steal the USIP headquarters for themselves, FFS. These are not liberators, their fucking brown shirts. Do better with the tone of your reporting please.

micheil.bsky.social•1 day ago

Maybe The Atlantic thinks the new admin will do kosher accounting. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Don’t count on it. They’ll use “founders math” and “VC voodoo” hand waving, cherry picking of narratives to prop up their story. They’ll summon deep research AI to conjure believable bullshit that will flood the zone.

unclewally3.bsky.social•1 day ago

Cutting your head off may not be the best way to lose thirty pounds.

true-bird.bsky.social•21 hours ago

📌

dnrdiamond.bsky.social•1 day ago

Elon hitler is spending tax money faster than the treasury can print it and we are on track for a record deficit. Fixed that headline for you 😡

broekn.bsky.social•1 day ago

where the hell are you? @schumer.senate.gov where are our checks & balances @warren.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @aoc.bsky.social @repjasmine.bsky.social @fetterman.senate.gov @whitehouse.senate.gov @smith.senate.gov I don't ask Sen. Booker - he is doing his job - the rest of you need to step up!

bunchkin3.bsky.social•1 day ago

Mitch McConnell started down the slippery slope the first time he overlooked an outrageous act in the early days. Emboldened, 45 continued to do increasingly outrageous things. Inconceivable. And the majority of the GOP just followed along. And continue to.

nootka.bsky.social•1 day ago

Perhaps Musk could pledge to cover any overage with his personal funds…

lpeterp.bsky.social•1 day ago

Just like the felon, nothing Elo says is ever true or honorable or correct.

tjoynichols.bsky.social•1 day ago

Well, getting sued- to-death for illegally firing people is kinda' expensive, isn't it?!

thecatlady5.bsky.social•1 day ago

It's privatization without regulation and no representation.

pxmorris.bsky.social•1 day ago

I stopped paying all my bills - Look how much money I have!

oldtodd.bsky.social•1 day ago

I'd be much more interested in a coherent explanation of the ways in which DOGE might reduce the deficit by so much as a single penny.

But then, I've always been a fan of science fiction.

fartboxer.bsky.social•1 day ago

How many fake stories has The Atlantic published in the last week alone?

greaterhuff.bsky.social•1 day ago

Your family can’t wait for you to die

moakley7842.bsky.social•1 day ago

Please tell us. And tell us why the stories are fake.

ryenflint.bsky.social•1 day ago

Americans want idiocracy at this point.

nosliwsuz.bsky.social•1 day ago

The goal is absolutely to incapacitate the government! They never actually believed they would be cutting waste and fraud, that was their way in and MAGAs still believe it today, even when shown the facts using actual math. Read Project 2025.

cynthiakrueger.bsky.social•11 hours ago

Absolute grift.

nanacatmama.bsky.social•1 day ago

All this to INCREASE the damn deficit. Insane!

finance111.bsky.social•1 day ago

the billionaires have divided us

#unite

yosi260.bsky.social•23 hours ago

With all this “ fraud” where are the arrests?

vincent2008.bsky.social•1 day ago

Musk can really shovel that manure.

rsphillips.bsky.social•1 day ago

Maybe he’ll make up for it by donating some Tesla stock to the federal coffers…oh, right, never mind.

kismet13.bsky.social•1 day ago

He put any so called savings to billion dollar contracts for him. No compete contracts. Illegal!

ginger9700.bsky.social•1 day ago

Yes, he is cutting essential programs for all Americans, while we are paying for Elon’s space exploration.

“The maximum payout that SpaceX could get in the future if NASA chooses to exercise all options in every contract is a whopping $56.4 billion.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/musk-government-contracts-spacex-tesla-taxes-b2703141.html

kimmok.bsky.social•1 day ago

It seems SpaceX has got 38 billion in contracts.
Some say the US has saved 40+billion by using SpaceX instead of Roscosmos+others.

therealmrsweary.bsky.social•1 day ago

Oh my god! Just like EVERYONE WITH A BRAIN SAID IT WOULD!

justpeace4all.bsky.social•1 day ago

More importantly, many real people are now unemployed, their expertise denied to the provision of services for all American people.

musicscott.bsky.social•1 day ago

Please stop focusing on the stated goal of savings; this is all about dismantling the federal gov't, mainly in ways that benefit him AND that feed into the right-wing rage machine.

pe1954.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is,what happens when you let amateurs run the government. You end up spending a fuckton more money cleaning up the mess they made.

steigersteiger.bsky.social•12 hours ago

Doh!

steigersteiger.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Yeah just close everything. That’ll do it.

thedrewmitchell.bsky.social•1 day ago

grifter's gonna grift

torrleonard.bsky.social•1 day ago

Anyone have a gift-link?

enoughofthis4.bsky.social•13 hours ago

Working on it but experiencing technical difficulties.

enoughofthis4.bsky.social•13 hours ago

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/doge-deficit-trump-elon/682227/?gift=u9U-sRWJwwCViLnj_yZ1G1_8yFsEr-uS4xoP9n2OGks&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

torrleonard.bsky.social•12 hours ago

Thanks!

Further reading:

https://bsky.app/profile/torrleonard.bsky.social/post/3ll35ptqz4s2o

msviking.bsky.social•1 day ago

It is a huge robbery, nothing else.

sluggishcheetah.bsky.social•1 day ago

The coup is the point, not the budget.

juliatowe.bsky.social•19 hours ago

Which is probably why Trump suggested (1/2025) that Congress eliminate the Debt Ceiling!

12thnight.bsky.social•1 day ago

It will increase the deficit! So much waste in DOGE.

dardenne.bsky.social•1 day ago

Elon Musk MUST be prosecuted for the largest Fraud, Waste and Abuse campaign this country has ever seen.

And Donald Trump’s prosecution must follow for egregiously breaking his oath to the Constitution of the United States.

These 2 men are saboteurs engaged in sabotaging this Democracy.

dokterhuis.bsky.social•1 day ago

When they started DOGE I assumed they would not be so stupid to fire IRS staff, as those are obviously the ones who bring the money in.

But as it turns out, I stand corrected: Trump and Musk are absolute fucking morons...

dominiondem.bsky.social•1 day ago

1. Want to be serious and cut the budget? The rich must pay higher taxes. Lucrative corporations must pay higher taxes.

2. You are not serious if step one is giving the rich a HUGE $4.7 Trillion tax cut. They don't need it!

sonofhil.bsky.social•1 day ago

📌

hammer456.bsky.social•1 day ago

Anyone who believes these fools is a fool with them

johnshea122.bsky.social•1 day ago

These Russian Republicans can’t fix anything, all they do is create chaos!

formalplates.bsky.social•1 day ago

“The wallet inspector promised me a quick return of my wallet. The reality was different”
by Jonathan Chait

kristaelliott.bsky.social•1 day ago

He and Trump are robbing the U.S. government blind -- and destroying it in the process -- solely to enrich themselves.

It's the crime of the century.

dardenne.bsky.social•1 day ago

Absolutely.

thewhitebook.bsky.social•1 day ago

I mean, when you start reporting the fact that this is all a poorly disguised effort to transfer wealth from working class and poor America to the obscenely wealthy, then it all makes perfect sense.

jrbolt.bsky.social•1 day ago

Wet blood-flecked shitstain Jonathan Chait gets every political project he wanted and is still unhappy. Shut the fuck up bitch

minmomismean.bsky.social•1 day ago

Another lie

anitamargarita.bsky.social•23 hours ago

Why? It’s because musk is an ignoramous, I don’t think we need a whole chair article on this

derschwede.bsky.social•21 hours ago

Maybe you need a whole chair article about how the actual goal of doge is dismantling the US government as outlined in project 2025. So far it worked out as planned and within their expected timeframes.

flynavy77.bsky.social•1 day ago

“Thank you sir may we have another!”

Said,

Every Maggot in America.

https://youtu.be/qdFLPn30dvQ

jack-north.bsky.social•1 day ago

Wait until the idiot finds out that in his zeal, he cut the funds for all his government contracts. 🤣

redrockin1.bsky.social•1 day ago

Chaos and dysfunction are the goals, not saving money.

nancyspantsbelt.bsky.social•1 day ago

#KoupKlutzKlan must go! Tired of pretending the Dollar Gen tech billionaire Bond villain administrative coup is legitimate government.🙃

realitycheck.bsky.social•1 day ago

Musk and DOGE's cuts have cost the government an estimated $500 billion in revenue, and the prospects of finding "waste, fraud, and abuse" to compensate are bleak.

realitycheck.bsky.social•1 day ago

After some optimism in early February, a prediction market now forecasts that Musk and DOGE will cut *zero* from the federal budget.

https://kalshi.com/markets/kxgovtcuts/government-budget-cuts

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